Strong Towns Annual Report: A Great Year, a Better Future
The state of Strong Towns is strong and the movement is growing. That’s the takeaway from the newly released 2022 Strong Towns Annual Report, which looks back at a year of great progress and ahead to an ambitious agenda for 2023.
“This year ended with record levels of new members (1,437) and total membership (3,665). This surge was fueled by a broadening of our audience and a growing awareness of the Strong Towns message. The result of this increase is that we see more members working in cities and towns to change the way that streets are constructed, challenge how public funds are spent, and lead the way to a more responsible pattern of development,” the report states.
You’ll also find member testimonials in the report, including a student who switched majors to better pursue the Strong Towns approach in his profession, and members using the Strong Towns toolkit to pursue meaningful change in their communities.
The report spotlights five priority campaigns, and you’ll see content dedicated to these topics through all Strong Towns channels this year:
Ensure transparent local accounting
We’re shining a spotlight on local accounting and showing people why this absence of transparency matters.
Legalize incremental housing
Strong Towns presents pointed critiques and policy guidance to remove the barriers that prevent a neighborhood from evolving over time in response to local needs.
End parking mandates and subsidies
When we started our annual #BlackFridayParking campaign in 2014, the thesis—that we are overbuilt on parking, even on the busiest shopping day of the year—was outside the mainstream. Now it’s become accepted wisdom.
Create safe and productive streets
Bad street design is the primary cause of vehicle crashes involving fatalities and traumatic injuries—we must build (and rebuild) streets that are dominated by people, and accommodate cars as a secondary feature.
End highway expansion
In 2022, the message went out loud and clear: Our governments need to demonstrate that they are competent enough to maintain essential infrastructure.
One new initiative for 2023 is the Crash Analysis Studio. It will use the methods of medical inquests to carefully study deadly car crashes, with a focus on design decisions that contributed to the crash, and fixes that can mitigate future danger.
In recent years, Strong Towns advocates have organically connected with each other online and in person to advocate for their communities. So, Strong Towns has “worked hard to make it straightforward for people to start Local Conversations groups. Now there are over 120 groups meeting in the United States and Canada, and hundreds more individuals who have volunteered to start a group.” See our Local Conversations hub to find (or start) a group near you.
The Community Action Lab is taking these conversations a step further, hosting public events and coaching local leaders on the Strong Towns approach in communities across North America.
Also in 2023, you’ll have a chance to join the Strong Towns National Gathering on May 30–31 in Charlotte, North Carolina, just prior to the Congress for the New Urbanism.
Founder Charles Marohn maintains a lofty goal for Strong Towns. “I am often asked what I do for a living. I say I am part of a movement that, if we are successful, will transform the way we all live, giving people lives that are more prosperous, secure, and meaningful.”
If you’re not a part of this movement yet, consider joining with thousands of people across North America who are working to make their towns and cities stronger and more financially resilient. Become a Strong Towns member today.